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Wendy Phillips (cont'd) The flame trees at the side of the school: the roots made great room dividers for pretend houses. The transience of friendships as families came and went. A school excursion to Bulolo, where we did a tour of the pine mill and remaining gold dredges, and, much more exciting in our eyes, were billeted with Bulolo Primary kids overnight! |
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Note from Jim Dudgeon: I'm surprised you don't remember the name of the salty plums, we called them snowdrops, for those not in the know, they are dehydrated plums, that have been immersed in a very thick salt solution, and they are yum big time. One could "suck" or "chew" on them, it's making my mouth water thinking about this. There were two types I can remember, the brown and the red. Then, we also had "ginger", what a delicacy, by the time we had finished one of them, our tongues were bright red. I came across a Chinese shop in Brisbane that has them, expensive, but worth every tasty morsel. |
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The Lae Show: exhibiting drawings and other stuff we did at school, winning prize certificates (no cash as I remember; the Argonauts were better in that respect. Remember Jimmy and Wombat? You got five shillings if they read your story or poem out on the air, which was a lot of money in those days. The free sample bags (remember?) made up for it, though. They were full of great stuff: miniature chocolate bars, doll-sized packets of twisties and bottles of coke, colouring books and pencils: a veritable treasure trove. Marching in the parade in full brownie and cub regalia. (Photo courtesy of Scott Martin) |
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A hairsbreadth escape from drowning in the Hotel Cecil pool at a school swimming lesson in grade 2 after being pushed in and sinking to the bottom but nobody noticed. (Photo courtesy of Scott Martin - what would we do without him?). Dancing rock and roll in the shelter shed in grade 6. The tuckshop, though sad to say, on the odd occasion I was given money to buy my lunch, I mostly spent my shilling at Kam Hongs. Do you remember the lollipops you could buy there; two for a penny, in all different colours and flavours? Sometimes I bought salted plums, though that's not what we called them - it was something much more exotic, but I can't remember what. After many years behind the counter at Lae Theatre milkbar, my mum actually ran the tuckshop from 1964 to 1966, while my sister, Diane, was still at the school. She was also a pack leader in Brownies: like Cheryl, I'm a world champion washer-upper :-). |
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Larian Rutland, student: In 1963 I was in grade 5B. Jim Dudgeon was in my class, and if I remember my teacher was Jean Stephens with the blue hair. I use to take baby rats home in my sewing box and my mother use to have a fit. My good friends in primary school were Barbara Box, Gwen Ahnon and Peta Vinning. |
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Cheryl Davey, student 1954-1958: I attended Lae Primary in 1954 and '55, had time out in Australia in 1956 and part of 1957, returned during 1957 and part of 1958, then transferred to Madang in 1958/59. My name was Cheryl Davey (now Pearce). Dad was a Qantas engineer, Peter Davey (deceased). We lived variously in old house on beachside, end of Lae Airstrip, in married quarters beside Lae Airstrip, in a US Army Nurses' house at Greenwich Village on Malahang Rd, then in two different houses in Sixth Street. I can't remember the films at all, but I do remember a Miss Harrison visiting the Lae school and showing films of Groote Eylandt and "The Teddy Bears' Picnic" filmed at Madang Primary. It was great fun to meet up with the cast when I transferred to Madang! I had the "cuts" from Mr Breakspear too, at least twice - once for talking while filing into class, and another time for leaving the school grounds with Penny Jones who lived next door. Madeline Kirk "told" on us. I think I had the cuts also for jumping over the drain between the school grounds and the Headmaster's house! I wasn't a particularly naughty child, not naughty enough to warrant being beaten. I think the fear of caning stayed with me into adulthood , along with a sense of injustice connected with the experience, and I forbade the schools my boys attended from caning or punishing without first referring to me. Another former student says the experience of caning led her into a career in the legal profession! The headmaster's son was Bobbie Breakspear, in my grade. |
